Safety razor



July 29, 1941. THOMPSON 2,251,008

SAFETY RAZOR Filed April 13, 1939 M 116 /0w i5 L1;

Patented July 29, 1941 UNETED STATES PATENT @FFICE SAFETY RAZOR Ralph E.Thompson, Brookline, Mass.

Application April 13, 1939, Serial No. 267,653

4 Claims.

My invention relates to double-edged blades for safety razors of thetype in which the blade holder is provided on opposite edges with guardsadapted to cooperate with the respective blade edges. Most razors ofthis type have become standardized so far as the width of the blade isconcerned, and it has been the practice to position the blade in theholder in such manner that both of the blade edges are maintainedsimultaneously in shaving relation to the corresponding guards when theblade is clamped in place.

A blade embodying my invention departs from the usual practice in thatit has less than the standard width and is provided with positioningapertures which enable it to be located in either one of two lateralpositions in a blade holder designed for blades, of standard width. Whenclamped in either of these positions, one edge of the blade is held inshaving relation to its guard but the other edge is located behind itsguard and cannot be utilized for shaving, so that only one edge isavailable for use at any given time.

The resulting advantage is that the wear on the blade can be definitelyconfined to one edge for any desired period. It is a common experiencethat if a used blade edge is allowed to remain unused for a few days itssharpness is found to be appreciably improved, and various ways havebeen proposed for enabling the user to distinguish readily between theedges of a doubleedged blade in such manner that the use of the bladecan be confined to a selected edge at will, while still preserving theadvantage of having two available edges. My invention achieves thisresult by making it impossible to use more than one edge of adouble-edged blade so long as the position of the blade in its holderremains unchanged, thereby increasing the useful life of the blade andlessening the likelihood that the user will discard a blade prematurelyin case one edge is unsatisfactory or both edges are not equally sharp.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 are similar views showing three different forms of myblade, each associated with a blade-clamping cap shown above and belowit in the two positions which these parts can occupy in relation to eachother when the blade is clamped;

Figure 4 shows a form of my blade which can be used with any of theblade-clamping caps above referred to; and

Figure 5 is an end view of a razor having its cap constructed as shownin Figure 1.

In Figure 1 is illustrated a form of my blade which is suitable for usein a well-known type of holder in which the blade-clamping cap isprovided on its inner face with a central threaded stem for attachmentto the razor handle and with two positioning studs located near the endsof the cap, in line with the threaded stemh In this case the blade, A,has two positioning apertures 2-2 so shaped and located as to receiveand engage the studs 3-3 on the cap 4 in two different lateral positionsof the blade, and a transversely-extending slot 5 of such length as toreceive the threaded stem 6 in either position. The dotted lines, whichare prolongations of the cutting edges l1 of the blade, indicate thelocation of these edges with respect to the cap when the blade isapplied thereto in either position, and it will be seen that whether theblade is in one position or the other, one of its edges 1 will beexposed for shaving when clamped in the holder while the other edge Iwill be covered by the cap and thus rendered inoperative. The completerazor is shown in Figure 5, in which the parts above described areassociated with a guard member 8 and a handle 9 of familiarconstruction.

The blade B shown in Figure 2 differs from the blade A in being providedwith a central longitudinally-extending slot l0 adapting it to bepositioned by means of a longitudinal rib II centrally located on theunder side of a cap l2, which has a central threaded stem l3 forattaching it to a handle. The slot I0 is divided at its ends into twoparts by inwardly-projecting fingers l ll l, each part of the slot beingof such width as to receive and fit the rib l I, whereby the blade canbe located in either of two lateral positions with respect to the cap I2as indicated by the dotted lines, and with the same result as in thecase of the blade shown in Figure 1.

The positioning apertures in the blade are not necessarily internal butmay be external, as is illustrated in Figure 3, in which the blade C ispositioned on the cap I 5 by means of one or the other of two pairs ofprojections l6 located respectively at the four corners of the cap onits under side and adapted to enter corresponding notches ll in thecorners of the blade. The aperture H3 at the center of the blade serves,like the slot 5 in Figure 1, to receive the threaded stem I9 on the capl5 and permit the blade to be located in either of the lateral positionsindicated by the dotted lines.

The blade-holding parts above described are such as are commonly usedwith flexible blades,

but my invention is equally applicable to rigid blades, and theapertures in the blades may be readily adapted to cooperate withwhatever positioning and clamping means are employed in the holders inwhich they are used. Also, the apertures may be so shaped and locatedthat my blade can be used in different holders and located in each ofthem in the two lateral positions which are distinctive of my blade ascompared with those heretofore used in double-edged safety razors. Forexample, Figure 4 shows a blade, D, which combines the positioningapertures of the blades described in connection with Figures 1, 2 and 3and can be used with either of the caps 4, l2 and I5, its aperturesbeing shaped to receive the studs 33 at 20-20, the ends of the rib I Iat 2|2l and the projections IS in the corner notches ll, in either ofthe two lateral positions above described. Its internal aperture, likethe slot ID in Figure 2, is also made wide enough to receive clampingmeans such as the stems 6, l3 and H3 in either position, as is necessaryin any case in which the clamping means pass through the blade.

In Figure 1 each of the apertures 22 in the blade A has the contour oftwo intersecting circles, so that the blade cannot move laterally whenplaced on the studs 3-3 in either position, and the same result isobtained by the fingers I4|4 with which the blade B is provided, butthis arrangement is convenient rather than essential, because eitherblade could readily be held in either position while being clamped inplace. In the case of the blade C shown in Figure 3, lateraldisplacement of the blade may be prevented, if desired, by shaping theaperture i8 like the apertures 2-2, as indicated in dotted lines.

I claim:

1. A blade having opposite cutting edges and adapted for use in a safetyrazor having a holder including guards spaced apart in the direction ofthe width of the blade, said holder having fixed blade positioningmeans, said blade being so much narrower than the space between theguards that when either one of said edges is in operative shavingposition relative to a guard the other edge is completely concealedwithin the holder, said blade being formed with recesses for cooperationwith said positioning means, said recesses being all ofi-set from thelongitudinal central line of the blade so as to cooperate with saidpositioning means only in the laterally displaced relations of the bladewherein one blade edge or the other is in shaving position relative to aguard, the blade being thus positionable in the holder only in anoperative relation thereto.

2. A blade having opposite cutting edges and adapted for use in a safetyrazor including a holder provided with fixed blade-positioning means andwith opposite guards spaced apart in the direction of the width of theblade, said blade being so much narrower than the space between theguards that whenever either one of its edges is in operative shavingposition relative to a guard its other edge is completely concealedwithin the holder and thereby rendered inaccessible for shaving, andsaid blade being formed with two independent sets of laterally-spacedpositioning apertures all oii-set from the longitudinal central line ofthe blade so as to cooperate with the positioning means in the holder inonly one or the other of two extreme lateral positions of the bladewherein one blade edge or the other is in shaving relation to a guard,the blade being thus positionable in the holder only in an operativerelation thereto.

3. A blade having opposite cutting edges and adapted for use in a safetyrazor including a holder provided with fixed blade-positioning means andwith opposite guards spaced apart in the direction of the width of theblade, said blade being so much narrower than the space between theguards that whenever either one of its edges is in operative shavingposition relative to a guard its other edge is completely concealedwithin the holder and thereby rendered inaccessible for shaving, andsaid blade being formed with an elongated central slot extendingparallel with its cutting edges and divided at its ends byinwardlyprojecting fingers located on the central longitudinal line ofthe blade, whereby a pair of laterally-separated recesses all ofi-setfrom the longitudinal central line of the blade is provided at each endof said slot to receive the positioning means in the holder in either oftwo extreme lateral positions of the blade wherein one blade edge or theother is in shaving relation to a guard, the blade being thuspositionable in the holder only in an operative relation thereto.

4. In a safety razor, the combination of a blade holder comprisingparallel guards on opposite edges and fixed blade positioning means, anda blade having opposite cutting edges and a width that is so much lessthan the space between the guards that whenever either one of said edgesis in operative shaving position relative to a guard its other edge iscompletely concealed within the holder and thereby rendered inaccessiblefor shaving, said blade being formed with two independent sets oflaterally-spaced positioning apertures all oil-set from the longitudinalcentral line of the blade so as to cooperate with the positioning meansin the holder in only one or the other of two extreme lateral positionsof the blade wherein one blade edge or the other is in shaving relationto a guard.

RALPH E. THOMPSON.

